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Others were pleased to have escaped the ordeal and relished being back on land.

"We just survived a frightening flight (on) Jetstar - Sydney to Cairns but have been diverted to Brisbane after the cabin filled with smoke and the engines were making strange sounds," Heidi Green wrote.

"Glad to be on the ground."

After being stranded at Brisbane airport for close to four hours, passengers were finally once again on their way to Cairns at around 9.30pm.